The time has come for Meredith Gentry to put aside her
detective work and fulfill her ultimate obligation to the
world of Faerie-where her efforts to conceive an heir to
the throne of the Unseelie Court are crucial to restoring
magic, and life itself, to the fey kingdom. And though her
quest may be rife with pleasures, the shadows of intrigue
continue to suffuse the royal court , . . and sabotage may
lurk at any turn.

While the Unseelie Mound reawakens in the dead gardens,
powerful curses are at work. Merry's uncle, the King of
Light and Illusion, schemes to accuse her immortal
guardsmen of heinous crimes. And Merry's own command of
magic has turned wildly and dangerously unpredictable. As
plots and counterplots are hatched, and strategies and
subterfuges played out, the destiny of an entire world
turns upon the fortunes of Merry Gentry: object of
obsession, target of treachery, pawn of uncertain fate.